We paid builders £2.3k to ruin our wall, we asked for some back and now they're asking for more. Any companies that can help us please??

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Hi, we were quoted £10k for scaffolding, paint removal and 1 coat of primer/2 coats of paint to our house. We paid the first staged payment of £2.3k up front, they scaffolded one side of the house and spent two half days with a machine that has a '0% damage guarantee' but it ruined the wall and lots of render came off - it looked like a child had scribbled over it. When we asked them if they could fix the wall before proceeding, the builder got aggressive and started making threats that unless we paid an additional £2k by the end of the day, the job could overrun by months, and would cost more money - at this point we decided not to go ahead. I asked (very politely!) if they could either repair the wall, or give us some of the £2.3k back towards repairing it and got a firm no.

We then wrote a letter saying that we believed it was reasonable to pay £700 for one side of the house to be scaffolded, and £500 for two half days of machine cleaning, asking for a refund of £1,100 (and still leaving us out of pocket and with the damaged wall) - they responded with a letter saying that upon reviewing their timesheets and transport details, we now owe them an additional £660 to deliver and collect the scaffolding.

What are our best options going forward please? I'm tempted to try the small claims route, but also wondering if there are any companies we should consider contacting to represent us and put the case forward? At this stage I'd much rather increase our chances of getting something back, rather than getting the full amount. I'm also wondering if we should go for the full £2,300 rather than just the £1,100 we put in the letter.

Thank you

Thanks so much, this is really helpful! Unfortunately some of the conversations were over the phone or in person, I do have a couple of recordings but not everything. The subsequent discussions with trades people etc (ie people suggesting they used tools to help speed up the process, hence the beading is also broken and damaged) were mostly in person, but I do have some useful messages and quotes for various work

I think the basis of my claim will be that the machine they claimed to use has a 0% damage guarantee, and see how it goes. Still not entirely sure whether to claim the £1,100 in my original letter to them, or to try for the full amount

Are they pursuing you for the £660?

Apparently only if we pursue them for anything. But quoting £700 for scaffolding, and an additional £660 for delivering and collecting scaffolding… maybe I’m being naive but I don’t think those fees are reasonable and I’m happy to take the risk we’d have to pay more

That in itself to me is an admission of guilt and they know they'd lose.

Thank you, yep it feels that way to me as well - pretty sure they are hoping we will get scared and not pursue it

You need to gather all your evidence to support your claim and format it so it is presentable to a judge. Then ask someone to counter your arguments, such as, you cancelled the contract, you did not allow the builder the opportunity to correct the issues, the resolution to the damaged rendering which you accepted was just to apply some filling, etc etc.
Then go and have a free consultation with a solicitor to see if they think you’ll win.
The bar for a civil case is lower than a criminal court, however if the judge doesn’t think you acted reasonably, you could easily end up out of pocket.

Changing the subject, slightly, how much did you end up paying the second contractors?

Thank you, good points and I'll try to make sure we're well prepared and covered as much as possible. Good shout on using a solicitor, I think it could help our chances so I'll look at some online options who specialise in small claims, but also local solicitors too

We ended up paying the second contractors £2,700 - they actually didn't do a great job either, but they were very open about it and apologetic, and knocked £1k off the initial price which was going to be £3,700

You cannot recover legal fees in the small claims court (save for very very low fixed costs) so I'd be doubtful you'll get a solicitor without being out of pocket.

Check your home insurance for legal expenses insurance.